Sheet-fed devices, such as printers, copiers, facsimile machines, multifunction devices, and the like, sometimes use previously used media, such as previously printed-on paper. The custom of reusing media may be useful for draft copying or printing where the appearance of the final document is not important. One of the most common problems with this reuse of media is that the media may be reprinted on a side that has been previously printed on. As a result, in order to reuse this previously used media the operator inserting the media in the machine must properly orient the reused media in the media tray so that the device can print on the unused side of the media. This is sometimes difficult to determine and inadvertent printing on a previously used side of the media may result either from a single piece of media that is inserted improperly, or from an entire stack of media that may have been inserted upside down.
Printing on the previously used side of the media results in increased printing or copying time by having to reprint or recopy on another piece of properly oriented media. In addition, printing on the previously used side of the media results in excessive use of a print agent such as ink or toner. Consequently, the improper routing of previously used media can result in reduced productivity and increased cost of printing on previously used media. In some environments input media is often loaded in sporadic increments by various users; the result being inconsistent media routing.